The World's First Avatar
by jesseway1460
Summary: It is said there's only one Avatar in each generation or, maybe not. Join Meiko, the world's first Avatar, as she accompanies Aang, Katara, and Sokka and make new friends, discover new secrets, fall in love, explore the world, but most importantly, train themselves for the war that's about to begin. Can Aang master all four elements in time with the help of Meiko and his friends?
1. Chapter 1: The Boy in the Iceberg

**Hi there! This is my first fan fiction. Tell me what you guys think! My computer shut down while I was typing this and I forgot to save it! Ugh, damn you computer. So I had to rewrite it. I think that it turned out better than the first one. Anyways, this is 10 pages long in Microsoft Word. I'll try to make it longer if I can. And it contains 2,677 words! Yeah!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. I wish I did though... :(**

**Summary: Sokka and Katara goes fishing. Instead of finding fish, they find something else, or someone. **

* * *

_Katara's POV_

"It's not getting away from me this time. Watch and learn, Katara. This is how you catch a fish." he said, his eyes focusing on a fish in the water with a spear in his hand. I rolled my eyes in disbelief. It's my 14th birthday today, and Sokka thought that taking me fishing is a good idea. Well, at least he's making an effort. Usually he would forget.

As I looked down, I saw a fish swimming very close to our canoe. _It couldn't hurt to at least try… Anyway, I need to practice._ I took off one of my glove and put all my concentration to waterbend. I started turning my wrist and the fish was trapped inside a bubble. _I did it!_ _"_Sokka, I caught one!" "Shh. You're scaring the fish, Katara. I can already smell it cooking…" I tried to tell him again. "But Sokka-"

_POP!_

"Hey!" Sokka just popped the bubble with the end of his spear as he raised it to catch the fish he was watching, causing the water to drench and sending the trapped fish back to its watery world. "Why is it that every time _you_ play with magic water, _I_ get soaked?" he grumbled. It's his own fault he got drenched. I'm tired of telling him. Even though I told him like a thousand times, he still doesn't get it.

"Ugh. It's not magic, it's waterbending. And it's-" but he cut me off. "Yeah, yeah, ancient art, unique to our culture, blah, blah, blah. I'm just saying, if I had real powers, I would keep my weirdness to myself." _What?_ "You're calling _me_ weird? I'm not the one who makes muscles at myself every time I see my reflection in water." I shot back with my arms crossed. Because as I was saying that, he was literally doing what I said. He shot me an evil glare before he said, "Yeah, well maybe that's because I just wanna see how awesome I am." he said. I rolled my eyes.

The sound of ice crashing caught my attention. I gasped as I looked past my brother's shoulder to see huge pieces of ice started coming our way at dangerous speeds. He started paddling as fast as he could as I yelled, "Left, left!" but it was too late.

We both jumped out of the canoe and landed on a floating piece of ice, which was covered with snow. I looked around as I sat up straight. _Oh great. Now we're stranded in the middle of nowhere._

"You call that left?"

"You don't like my steering? Well, maybe you should've waterbended us out of the ice" I can already feel the anger rising in me.

"So it's my fault?!" I yelled back. "I knew I should've left you home. Leave it to a girl to screw things up" That was the last straw. I decided to tell him off.

"You are the most sexist, immature, idiotic, nutbrained, ugh, I'm embarrassed just to be related to you!" I yelled while waving my arms and hands to match my anger. I saw fear on his face. But I wasn't finished just yet. "Ever since Mom died, I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier all day long!" I heard him whimper, "Uh, Katara?" But I was too mad at him. "I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you. That was it!" Because when I took a sniff, I almost passed out. With a terrified look on his face, he yelled, "Katara, settled down!" But settling down was the last thing on my mind. "No! That's it. I'm done helping you. From now on, YOU'RE ON YOU OWN!"

I stopped as I heard a loud crack. I looked over my shoulder just in time to see a big block of ice split in half and crash into the water, causing a big wave to push back the ice we're on.

After the ice stopped moving, I looked up, questioning myself over what happened. I was just about to ask Sokka before he said, "Okay. You've gone from weird to freakish, Katara." My jaw dropped when I heard that. "Y-You mean, I-I did _th_-_that_?" "Yup. Congratulations." I cannot believe it. I mean, even though I'm a waterbender, I only know two or three moves. That's because there's no master to teach me as I'm the only waterbender in the ENTIRE South Pole. But never, EVER, have I done anything like that.

I was still trying to recover from what happened when a blue light shone from the depths of the water right in front of us. We took a few steps back before something humongous shot up. As I lowered my hands from my eyes, I realized I was standing in front of the biggest iceberg I've ever seen. I hesitated as I walked forward, then I stopped. I thought I saw something in there. I squinted my eyes to get a better look just to see a figure of a boy sitting with his legs crossed as if he was meditating. As I looked a bit closer, his eyes opened and glowed. I gasped as I realized something.

"He's alive! We have to help him!" I said, grabbing my brother's club and running towards the iceberg. "Katara, come back here! We don't know what that thing is!" he yelled while chasing after me. But I didn't stop. He was alive in there, and I've gotta help him before he freezes to death. Even if Sokka won't help me.

As soon as I reached there, I started hitting the iceberg with all my might. Even though it seems impossible, I just couldn't give up. A gust of wind knocked me back after a few hits. Then, the iceberg cracked in half, all the way to the top and burst open like a balloon. A light of faded blue from the middle of the iceberg shot up straight to the sky like a laser with clouds surrounding it.

The light slowly faded after a few seconds and my attention went back to the iceberg. I looked at my brother, who was very much terrified as I was. Then, the boy I saw earlier in the ice, stood up at the edge of the iceberg, his eyes still glowing. My brother pointed his spear at him straight away, while yelling, "Stop!" For some reason, he didn't respond and just stood there. After a while the glow in his eyes started to fade and he fell from the edge. I gasped before running towards him. I thought a heard him groan as he fell into my arms.

I turned him over to see his face, but then Sokka started poking his head repeatedly with the end of his spear, which was made of a bone. I told my brother to knock it off while raising my hand protectively. I looked back at the boy. He must be around 11 or 12 years old, and his clothes are yellow and orange color. Nothing like I've ever seen. He was bald, with a blue arrow tattoo on his head. _That's odd. It's like I've seen these before…_

I was still rattling my brain to figure out where I have seen this before I heard a groan. When his eyes fluttered open, I saw the stormiest grey eyes I have ever seen in my life. "I need to ask you something." he asked with a croaked voice. "Yes?" "Please, come closer." "What is it?" I leaned forward as I asked that. "Will you go penguin sledding with me?" he said, with his eyes wide and a smile on his face. "Uh, sure. I-I guess?" I hesitated with one eyebrow raised.

Then he _somehow_ summon the wind around him to push him up on his feet "What's going on here?" he asked while rubbing the back of his head. However, Sokka had a million questions for him. "You tell us. How'd you get in the ice? And why aren't you frozen?" he yelled while poking him at the sides as he asked the last question. "I'm not sure." He replied.

We were still trying to recover over what happened when we heard a loud grumble that I think came from inside the iceberg. The boy gasped and scrambled up the wall of the iceberg. Curious, we followed him only to find a humongous fluffy white beast with horns and brown arrow tattoos on its head just like the boy. Then it lifted him with its huge tongue and he was _laughing._ My eyes went big, my lips slightly apart, but Sokka's jaw hit the ground and his eyes were the size of baseballs.

"What is that thing?" my brother asked, as we approached them. "This is Appa, my flying sky bison." He said, introducing it to us. "Right. And this is Katara, my flying sister." He pointed at me. I shot a dirty look at him and was just about to say something before Appa, the bison, suddenly sneezed with full force. The boy ducked as he knew what was coming, lucky for him, and all the snot got stuck to Sokka instead. I guess he was pretty much grossed out cause he tried to wipe it off on the snow. I covered my mouth with my hands to prevent myself from laughing out loud, but couldn't help feeling grossed out myself.

"Don't worry, it'll wash out." The boy said with a calm tone. He went back to Appa and gave him a big hug before asking us, "So, do you guys live around here?"

I was just about to say yes, but Sokka beat me. "Don't answer that," His spear pointed at him while the boy held his hands up to his neck. "Did you see that crazy bolt of light? He was probably trying to signal the fire navy." Can my brother be so stupid? "Oh yeah, I'm sure he's a spy for the fire navy. You can tell by that evil look in his eye." I said with much sarcasm. He looked at us with a carefree expression on his face.

"Sorry about that. The paranoid one is my brother, Sokka." I apologized. "You never told us your name." "I'm Aa-aa-aa-aa-aa..." We both looked at him with confused faces. "Aa-aa-aaa-AAAAACCCHHHHHOOOOOOOOO!" He sneezed while launching himself into the sky like a rocket. Our eyes followed him when he landed back on the ground. "I'm Aang." He said with a smile, like nothing strange happened.

"You just sneezed. And flew ten feet in the air!" Sokka half-yelled, pointing to the sky. "Really? It felt higher than that." He said like it was something he does all the time. The gears in my brain worked faster. He summoned the wind around him to push him up to his feet, he sneezed and flew ten feet in the air, and he has a flying sky bison. Air… _But it can't be!_

I gasped before saying, "You're an air bender!" "Sure am." he said. _I thought airbenders were extinct... _That would explain his clothes as well. Everything that happened today was too much for Sokka to handle, because he said, "Giant light beams, flying bisons, airbenders, I think I got midnight sun madness." He turned around. "I'm going back home to where stuff makes se-" He stopped in mid sentence when he realized that we were still stranded.

"Well if you're stuck, Appa and I can give you a lift." he offered. I didn't have to think twice of the offer. "We'd love ride. Thanks!" I ran to Appa's side and Aang held his hand out. I took it and he pulled me up into the saddle. Sokka seemed to realize my intentions, and he immediately thought it was a bad idea. "Oh no. I am not getting on that fluffy snot monster." Well, if he didn't wanna get on, fine by me. But he's my brother, and I can't just leave him here. There is only one choice.

"Are you hoping some other kind of monster will come along and is kind enough to give you a ride home on its back? You know, before you freeze to death?" I said, hoping to knock some sense into him. I think it worked. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it slowly followed with a sigh in defeat.

He began walking to Appa's side, avoiding his head. When Appa looked at him, he ran quickly to his side. From the last time he got in the way, I'm pretty sure he didn't want to get stuck in the same situation again. I helped him up into the saddle and he sat at the very back with his arms crossed. I, however, sat at the front.

* * *

_Aang's POV_

Once Katara and Sokka were on the saddle, I turned around and grabbed hold of the reins.

"Alright, now you guys. First time flyers, hold on tight. Keep your arms and legs inside the saddle at all the times." I instructed. I whipped the reins while giving Appa the signal. "Appa, yip yip!" He smacked his tail to the ground and jumped off the snow. We were in midair for a few seconds before he crashed into the water. "Come on, Appa. Yip yip!" I said again while whipping the reins. I heard Sokka say, "Wow, that was truly amazing." with a tone that shows boredom. I turned around and I think he rolled his eyes. "Appa's just a little tired. A little rest and he'll be soaring through the sky at high speeds! You'll see." I assured him. I looked at Katara again.

I replayed in my mind about what happened before. I open my eyes and found myself staring into beautiful ocean blue eyes that showed compassion. Her face was just so perfect and her hair that swayed slightly with the wind. She was like an angel sent from heaven to the mortal world. Nothing can beat her beauty. And her voice is just music to my ears.

The same voice knocked me out of my trance. "Why are you smiling at me like that?" I felt my cheeks burn up. "O-Oh, I-I was smiling?" _Oops._ I turned away in embarrassment while my cheeks were still red.

We continued our journey until dark. I was looking in the sky when Katara came to the front of the saddle. "Hey. What are thinking about?" I asked. "I guess I was just wondering. You being an airbender and all. If you have any idea what happened to the avatar." My heart skipped a beat hearing that question. _Uh-oh..._"Uh, n-no. I didn't know him. I-I mean, I knew people that knew him, but I didn't. Sorry." I lied with a fake smile plastered on my face. "Ok. Just curious. Goodnight." she said while turning away. "Sleep tight." I let go the breath I didn't realize I was holding. Thank the Spirits she didn't find out _I'm _the avatar. I better get some sleep.

* * *

_Somewhere in the Southern Air Temple..._

_"He's awake."_

* * *

**DUM DUM DUM! Cliffhanger! So, what do you guys think? Please review your thoughts to me. I don't know when the next chapter's gonna come out, but I'll try to make it ASAP. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Avatar Returns

**Hey guys! So, this is the second chapter. I'm sorry if it's so late. I have school, 2 tuitions and a busy life. And I also apologize if there are any grammar mistakes. In this chapter, the OC will be introduced. And she's 50% like Katara. I'll be uploading more chapters, but for now, enjoy! Oh, and I thought that I will stick to the normal type of POV, so, kind of like a third person's POV. I'll be adding Katara's or Sokka's or anyone else's POV in here, but rarely.**

**Sokka: Well, at least I don't have to pour my 'feelings' into this...**

**Me: Hello! I said rarely, not never.**

**Sokka: Oh man! Come on! *pouts**

**Me: Anyways. Katara, would you do the honors of saying the disclaimer?**

**Katara: Ok. Sure. Jesse doesn't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and neither it's characters or other contents.**

**Me: But I do own some of the parts!**

* * *

_Aang sits up alarmed when he heard thunder. They were flying in a lightning storm. He grabbed the reins and tried to steer Appa out of it, but it was impossible to see through the heavy rain. He didn't see a wave approaching them didn't have time to react when he and Appa slowly sink in the water, losing consciousness. Aang eventually let go of Appa's reins, and began floating farther from him. Darkness reached for him, calling his name. But then, he felt a surge of energy and power. He snapped his eyes open, glowing white as well as his tattoos. He punched his fists together, creating a large barrier of air, capturing him and Appa as well. He freezes the barrier, with the help of the cold water. He didn't know what took him or what he did. When his eyes were half-closed, he saw a girl coming towards him._

_The top half of her dark brown hair was tied up into a braid while the rest of her hair goes down until her hips. And her fringes were separated in half. She wore a purple short-sleeved dress that goes all the way down with an ocean blue sash around her hips. There are blue wavy designs at the end of the dress and each sleeve. The sides are split open at the lower part of the dress to allow more movement. Tightly wrapped cloth that was dark purple covers from her elbow to her wrists while light blue sleeves covers the rest of arms. Around her neck is a dark purple necklace with blue designs. The four elements were carved on a round light blue crystal, which hangs on the necklace. She had purple eyes, which was focused on his. She whispers to him as she began to fade._

_"Aang, I have waited a long time for you. Meet me at the Southern Air Temple in three days time." He closes his eyes before hearing an angelic voice. "Aang? Aang. Aang!"_

* * *

He sat up with a jolt, his body bathing in sweat. Aang turned his head left and right. He looked down to see he was only wearing pants while the rest of his clothes were neatly folded at the side. _Where am I?_ Then his memories about yesterday came flooding into his brain like a hurricane. _I woke up in Katara's arms and I offered them a ride back to their home because they were stuck. Then Katara offered me to rest in a tent._ His thoughts then turned to his dream. It seemed so real.

_That girl, who was she? Why did she want to see me back home? But then again, it's just a dream. Maybe she's not real._ When he calmed down for a bit, he looked to the right and saw Katara at the opening of the tent. "Hurry up, Aang. Everyone's waiting to meet you." He gave her small smile and started putting on his clothes. Katara was just about to head out when she saw Aang's back.

A blue straight line from his head to his back on went on. Arrow tattoos like on his head were there on his hands and feet. Katara snapped out of her trance and grabbed his hand once he was done and started walking outside. Sokka was sitting just outside the tent while sharpening his club with a stone, glaring at Aang.

She stopped in front of her tribe. There were probably around 10 people at the most, including the children. "Aang, this is the entire village. Entire village, this is Aang." He bowed politely to them, but they started backing away while looking at Aang with scared faces.

Aang noticed this, and became worried. "Why are they all looking at me like that? Did Appa sneeze on me or something?" An elderly woman with hair loopies like Katara came to them. "That's because nobody's seen an airbender in a hundred years. We thought they were extinct. Until my granddaughter and grandson found you."

His eyes widen with shock as he heard that. "Extinct?! What do you mean extinct? What are you talking about?"

"Aang, this is my grandmother."

"Call me Gran Gran."

Suddenly Sokka grabbed Aang wood out of his hand and began examining it. "What is this? Some sort of weapon? You can't stab anything with this."

He chuckled slightly as he said that. Aang airbended the wood from him and said, "It's not for stabbing, it's for airbending." He did something that revealed its orange wings and small tail and the bottom end. The kids began squealing. One of them said, "Magic trick! Do it again!" while jumping up and down.

"Not magic, airbending. It helps me control the air currents around my glider and fly."

But Sokka, being the logical and scientific person he is, didn't believe him. "You know, last time I checked, humans can't fly!" He said in a matter-in-fact tone with his arms crossed on his chest.

Aang smirked before he said, "Check again!" He put his glider behind his back and jumped off the ground. He flew while using airbending to support him. He did tricks like dives, loops and many more. Sokka had his jaw on the ground while Katara watched with delight. Aang's eyes focused on Katara plastered a big grin from ear to ear.

Aang crashed into Sokka's watchtower and Katara quickly pulled her hand to her mouth to keep her from laughing. He pulled his head out of the snow, and landed hard on the ground, destroying Sokka's watchtower in the process. Katara pulled her hand to her mouth to keep her from laughing.

"My watchtower!" he half yelled in a voice two octave higher. Katara ran over to Aang and held out her hand.

"Aang, that was amazing!" It truly was. He took her hand brushed off the snow on his clothes. Sokka ran to his watchtower and tried to fix it, but ended up destroying it even further and a pile of snow dropped on him.

"Great. You're an airbender, Katara's a waterbender, together you two can waste time and play all day long!" He said in an annoyed tone and walked away with his feet stomping on the ground while mumbling to himself.

"You're a waterbender!" Aang has never met a waterbender during his travels as a nomad. Katara blushed and looked away. "Well, not yet." She confessed. But then Gran Gran placed her hand on her shoulder and said, "Come on Katara. Enough playing. You have chores." Katara nodded and walked away from the crowd.

* * *

_Katara's POV_

"I'm telling you Gran Gran. He's the one!" But she wasn't convinced.

"Katara, try not to put all your hopes in this young boy."

"But he's special. I sense he is filled with much wisdom."

From the moment I met him, I felt a special connection to him. It's like, I was meant to find him. There was something amazing and powerful about him. For the past years my tribe has always looked so gloomy and sad. But now, Aang brought fun and happiness that I never thought would come to us. The kids are smiling and laughing again. It made my heart melt just seeing that.

When I was done doing my chores, I looked for Aang. But she couldn't find him anywhere. Sokka was in the middle training some kids on how to be a warrior when Rou said he needed to go to the bathroom. Sokka told him, "Look, as soon as your fathers return from the war, they're counting on you to be the men of this tribe!" My thoughts suddenly went back when my dad left for the war. "But I really gotta go!" Sokka sighed in defeat and asked, "Alright. Who else has to go?"

At once all the kids raised their hands. He smacked his hand on his forehead and formed a red mark.

"Have you seen Aang? Gran Gran said he disappeared over an hour ago." I asked with a note of concern in my voice.

"Who cares? Better if he was gone for good." I shook my head at him. Then Aang came out of the bathroom. _Was he in there for an hour?_ "Whoa. Everything freezes in there!" He claimed. The kids have become fond of Aang, since he was always playing with them. I don't know why Sokka didn't trust him. But then again, this is Sokka we're talking about. He always trusts his 'instincts'.

* * *

Sokka looked back at Katara and said, "Well, I think that my warriors found him." The tips of his eyebrows moved to the center of his forehead until they were almost touching when he looked back at Aang. Katara was confused and looked the direction he was looking. Appa's tail was curved up into the shape of a slide and Aang was sitting in the saddle. He lifted Rou up and gently pushed him down Appa's tail. Rou squealed and landed in a pile of snow along with some other kids.

Sokka was pretty mad that they were having fun. "Stop! Stop it right now! What's wrong with you? We have no time for fun and games with a war going on." Aang jumped down from the saddle and used airbending to land gently on the snow. He had a confused look on his face.

"War? What war? What are you talking about?" The two siblings were surprised. He is an air nomad. He had to know. His people were wiped out during the war. He's probably the last airbender in the world! Little did they know that Aang was more than he seems.

"You're kidding, right?" Sokka asked, breaking the silence. He tried to find some humor in his voice. There wasn't. He wasn't kidding. Then Aang's eyes went past their shoulders and became the size of saucers.

He shouted "PENGUIN!" that could be heard until the Northern Water Tribe. The otter-penguin he saw tried to walk away as fast as it could. But Aang, being an airbender, took off like the wind. Literally. He was gone in a blink of an eye.

"He's kidding, right?" Sokka asked again. Katara had a feeling Aang has absolutely no idea about the war or what happened to his people.

"I don't think so Sokka. Something tells me that there's more to Aang than we think." With that, Katara went to follow him.

* * *

_Sokka's POV_

I watched as Katara went after Airhead who just disappeared in a second. I shrugged before walking back to the kids. "Alright, no more playing! And as punishment, we're gonna train extra hard for a week. And NO potty breaks! That's final!" I shouted. It felt kinda good. Then the kids had sad faces and pouts. I wasn't falling for that. "NOW!" They walked away with their backs slouched and heads drooping.

I felt kinda guilty. I mean, they're just kids of only 5 to 7 years old. Their whole life they've been sad and depressed with no hope in the world. They seem really happy and hopeful when Airhead came about. _Oh no… Great. I'm beginning to sound like Katara._

My thoughts snapped back to reality. I looked back at the kids. They still had that sad expression on their faces. Maybe they deserve a break.

"Hey kids!" They stopped dead in their tracks and looked at me in fear. "Look, I'm really tired, ok. So, I was thinking that maybe you should rest for the whole day." Their faces immediately lit up and started running towards me. They hugged me and with all of them combined, they almost squeezed they air out of my lungs. I brushed them off and they yelled, "Thanks, Sokka!"

"Yeah, yeah. Now run along before I change my mind!" They didn't think twice. They ran off with grins on their faces. I couldn't help but smile a bit. I chuckled while rolling my eyes, "Kids."

I suddenly remembered something. "My watchtower!" I ran to it and tried to build it once more.

After 4 hours, it was done. I added a few improvements so the watchtower won't collapse again. I climbed to the top and stuck a Water Tribe flag. I smiled victoriously as the flag swayed proudly with the cold wind of the South Pole. My mind went to Dad who was still fighting in the war. If only he could see me now… I quickly wiped a tear that was sliding down my cheek. I didn't want Katara to think I'm a cry baby.

* * *

Katara followed Aang by following his footprints in the snow. She must've been walking for an hour when she found him. There were hundreds of penguins there, gathering and playing around. Katara scanned the area and found an orang yellow dot moving around. Aang was trying to catch an otter-penguin. He jumped forward, but the penguin laid on its belly and slid from him. Aang fell with his face buried in the snow. Katara chuckled slightly seeing Aang like a child. Aang realized Katara's presence and said, "I have a way with animals."

He started mimicking the penguins and grabbed one by it's tail. Katara laughed at Aang's behavior, but she didn't mind. This was the first time she laughed for 8 years now.

"Aang, I'll teach you how to catch a penguin if you teach me waterbending." she bargained. Aang released his grip from the penguins tail and looked up to her. "You got a deal. Just one little problem. I'm an airbender-" Aang airbended himself so that he sat on his legs "-not a water bender. Isn't there someone else in your tribe who can teach you?" he asked. Aang didn't know that the Fire Nation raided Katara's home in search of the last waterbender in the Southern Water Tribe and that her mother bravely sacrificed her life for Katara's.

Katara looked away from him. "No. You're looking at the only waterbender in the whole South Pole."

"I'm sorry." he apologized.

"It's alright. You didn't know." she assured him.

Aang thought about it for a couple seconds. "Well, what about the North Pole? There's another Water Tribe up there, right? Maybe there's a master that can teach you over there!" he suggested. Katara looked at him with a hopeful face, but was replaced with sadness.

"But Aang, we haven't visited our sister tribe for a long time. Besides, it's not exactly around the next glacier. It's on the other side of the world!" she said. But Aang already has that covered.

"But you forget. I have a flying bison. Katara, we're gonna find you a master!" he said with determination in his voice. Katara was brainstorming through this. Could she really leave her tribe, her own family to go find a master to teach her? Could she really leave everything behind to fulfill her destiny as a waterbender? Katara thought about it and she ended up on a dead end. She stuttered a bit as she said, "I-I don't know, Aang. I've never been away from home before."

Aang saw that she obviously needed more time to think this through. Anyway, it wasn't an easy choice to make. "Well, you think about it. But in the mean time, can you show me how to catch a penguin?" he asked with eagerness glowing on his face. Katara nodded and bowed to him like a she was a master.

"Alright. Listen closely, Pupil Aang. Catching penguins is an ancient art. Observe." She pulled out a fish out of her sleeve and threw it to Aang. He caught it and all the penguins started surrounding him and he started laughing.

* * *

"WOO HOO!" Katara and Aang were in midair enjoying the fun of penguin sledding. Aang hadn't done this in a long time. And now here he was. Penguin sledding with a beautiful girl named Katara.

"I haven't done this since I was a kid!" she yelled while laughing. "You still are a kid!" he said back.

They were having a blast that time. No responsibilities, no work. Just the two of them having the time of their lives. They entered an ice cave and at that point Aang used airbending to make his penguin go faster. He eventually passed Katara and she knew what he was doing. "Hey, no bending!" Aang just smirked as he looked back. Katara was nowhere in sight and she fell behind. He looked back at the front and saw Katara way ahead of him. He was dumbstruck. He gathered more wind and the penguin went even faster.

In a matter of minutes, they were sledding side by side. Sadly, their fun came to a halt. They got off their penguins and began walking back to camp. However, they froze in their tracks as they saw a ship.

A Fire Nation ship.

Katara shuddered at the horrible tragedy when this ship came along with a few others. Aang didn't know that since he didn't know about the war, and walked towards it. "Aang, what are you doing? This place could be booby-trapped," she warned. Aang, curiosity betraying him, said with an encouraging smile. "If you wanna be a bender, you have to let go of fears." Katara hesitated before slowly walking to him. She felt a lump in her throat and tried to muster every ounce of courage in her body. The ship was completely made of metal. They explored it and came upon a weapons room. "This ship has haunted my tribe ever since Gran Gran was a little girl. It was part of the Fire Nation's first attacks," she explained. Aang was shocked. What attack? What was going on here?

It was too much for Aang. "Ok. I had friends from all around the world. Even in the Fire Nation. I've never heard of any war," he said while picking up a spear. This made Katara even more confused. Then she asked him a question that has been lingering at the back of her mind.

"Aang, how long were you in that iceberg?" Aang stopped. He had no idea. He hadn't even thought about it until now.

"I don't know. A-a few days, I guess?"

Katara thought about it. The war was a 100 years old, **(wow, even wars have age...)** and Aang was 12. And he doesn't know anything about the war. Katara eyes widen as realization struck her. "I think it was more like a hundred years!" she exclaimed. Aang looked at her like she was crazy. "What? That's stupid and impossible. Do I look like a hundred and twelve year old man to you?" he said.

Katara began explaining. "Think about it. The war is a century year old. It affected everyone from every nation. You don't know about it, because somehow, you were in it that whole time. It's the only explanation."

Aang had a scared face while she said that. He was in there for a hundred years?! It was unbelievable. He thought about his home. Everyone he knew, everyone he loved, was gone. Monk Gyatso, his guardian, what about him? He was a monk and pretty old. That meant Monk Gyatso was gone too. The tears in Aang eyes were starting to flow down his cheeks at the thought of it. Gyatso was like a father to him. He didn't know his parents, because they had sent him away to train. It was like that with every other air nomad. Now, his only family was gone. Besides Appa of course. Despite his sadness over the lost of an almost-father friend, Aang knew his spirit was in a better place. He knew that his guardian was watching over him. Just like he had done before. He prayed to the Spirits to take care of Gyatso for him.

Aang backed up and landed with his knees close to his chest. "A hundred years. I can't believe it." he said with a sad tone. Katara felt tears well up in her own eyes. Her heart went out for him. He must be really sad about his family and friends. She blinked back tears and sat down beside him."I'm so sorry, Aang. I know how you feel. I lost my mother in a Fire Nation raid. This necklace is all I have left of her." She fought the tears that were threatening to fall, all the time looking away from him. She felt a hand rest on her shoulder and looked at Aang.

"I'm sorry, Katara. At least now she's in a better place, right?" she nodded slightly and tried to give him some encouragement. "Well, maybe there's a bright side to all this." Aang thought about it. "Well, I did get to meet you." he said with a smile. Katara grinned from ear to ear and stood up, holding out her hand. "Come on. Let's get outta here." she suggested. She felt that they have been here long enough. Aang nodded at her and stood up as well. They both headed out of the room. Apparently, they also came across the control room.

Aang walked in, his foot pulling on a string hidden in the snow. The string broke and a loud explosion was heard. A flare shot up to the sky, blazing brightly. He gasped before looking out. The flare rose up 100 feet in the air and exploded like a firework. "What was that you said about booby-traps?"

They needed to get out of there. And fast.

"Hang on!" Aang place one of his hand on Katara's back and the other under her knees. He lifted her off the ground and jump out through a hole in the ceiling. Katara grasped his neck firmly and let out a small yelp. Who knew someone like him could carry someone like her effortlessly like she was a feather? He landed on the ground gently with the help of airbending. He carefully put her down like she was a fragile piece of china. He took her hand and they both ran back.

* * *

"Now _this_ is how you cook a fish!" Sokka was still on his post, sitting on top of his new and improved watchtower while eating his lunch. He almost chocked on his food when a loud explosion was heard. He sat up and scanned the area, looking for the source. Something caught his eye. A bright flare shot up into the sky from the Fire Nation ship not too far from here. The warrior gasped and squinted his blue cobalt eyes at the ship. Someone was carrying someone out the ship by jumping really high and landing on the ground softly. Which kinda looked like airbending. He gasped as his face slowly filled with anger and rage. There was only one person who could do something like that.

Aang.

He focused his eyes a little more to make out the person he was carrying. He, or rather, she, wore a blue parka and had brown chocolate hair. He clenched his jaw and balled his fists as he got down and ran to the gateway of their tribe. He will wait for them, no matter how long it took. And when they do, they will never forget it for the rest of their lives.

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity of running, they finally made it back safely. Katara saw Sokka waiting for them with his arms crossed on his chest. Behind him was the entire tribe. This isn't good. When the kids saw Aang and Katara returning, they ran up to the duo. Sokka didn't seem please, however, or sound like it.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the spy?" he said, giving Aang a death glare. He continued, "I knew it! You signaled the Fire Navy with that flare! You're leading them straight to us aren't you?" His eyes turned to Katara. "Katara, what were you?" Before Katara could say anything, Aang spoke up. "Well, we went penguin sledding, and then we came across a ship. There was a booby trap, and well, we boobied right into it." he said while rubbing the back of his forehead. "Katara, you shouldn't have gone on that ship. Now we could all be inn danger!" Gran Gran said in a stern voice. Again, Katara didn't get a chance to say anything. "Don't blame Katara. I brought her there. It's my fault." Aang confessed while looking down in shame.

Sokka seemed please with this. "Ahah! The traitor confesses! Warriors, away from the enemy. The foreigner is banished from our village!" he said with a victorious tone. The kids did what he said, heads drooping, and Katara stood up for him.

"Sokka, you're making a mistake."

"No. I'm keeping my promise to Dad. I'm protecting you, from threats like him." He points his finger at Aang. Katara still didn't give up.

"Aang is not our enemy! Don't you see? Aang's brought us something we haven't had in a long time. Fun." she explained. Sokka eyes showed disbelief. "Fun?! We can't fight firebenders with fun!" But apparently, Aang said the wrong thing at the wrong time. "You should try it sometime." Sokka was really fed up. "Get out of our village. Now!" he said in a demanding tone.

Katara turned to her grandmother. "Grandmother, please. Don't let Sokka do this." she pleaded, hoping she was on her side. But she was dead wrong.

"Katara, you knew going on that ship is forbidden. Sokka is right. I think it's best if the airbender leaves." Katara had had it.

"Fine! Then I'm banished too! Come on, Aang. Let's go." She said, grabbing Aang's hand and began to drag him towards Appa. She was halfway there when her brother shouted, "Where do you think you're going?"

"To find a waterbender. Aang is taking me to the North Pole!" she shot back. Aang, who was baffled and confused, said, "I am? Great!" Then the question that Katara dreaded most was asked.

"Katara! Are you really gonna choose him, over your tribe? Your own family?" Katara stopped dead in her tracks. She looked down to the snow. She unconsciously let go of Aang's hand and it dropped to her side. Aang walked up to her and said, "Katara, I don't want to come between you and your family." He knew how much family meant to someone. He never knew his parents or if he had any siblings. Gyatso had always been like a father to him. He would show him kindness and compassion. The other monks trained him until Aang felt like a robot, automatically moving his arms and feet to the same routine for hours. Gyatso took it easy on him, and treated him like a normal kid. They would train, play Pai Sho, fly around the Air Temple, bake fruit cakes with swirly jelly in the middle while launching them in the air landing on the other monks heads and tell jokes that made them laugh until their breaths were gone, and that was something rare for an airbender.

Aang walked past her and walked to Appa's side. Katara's face instantly filled with sadness. "So, you're leaving the South Pole? This is goodbye?" Aang turned to her.

"Thanks for penguin sledding with me."

"Where will you go?" she asked out of concern. Aang replied, "Guess I'll go back home and look for the airbenders." Then his face changed to bewilderment. "Wow. I haven't cleaned my room in a hundred years! Not looking forward to that." he said with a sad smile.

Then he airbended himself up on Appa's head and took the reins. "It was nice meeting everyone." Sokka's voice was heard not a moment too soon. "Let's see your bison fly now, airboy." Aang then tried to get his friend to fly. "Come on, Appa. You can to it. Yip yip!"

Instead of obeying his master, Appa was too lazy and stood up with a grumble. "Yeah! I thought so!" Sokka yelled in satisfaction. Katara found it hard to not punch her idiotic brother in the face. Then little Maria ran up to Katara and pleaded. "Aang, don't go. I'll miss you." she said with tears in her eyes. "I'll miss you too." Aang looked at Katara. Her eyes too began to tear up. Aang turned around and said sadly. "Come on, buddy." And with that he slowly disappeared.

She watched as Aang slowly disappeared from the horizon. Maria walked sadly back to her home. Katara gnashed her teeth together and her fists began trembling. Gran Gran walked up to her. "Katara, you feel better after-" but she cut short. Katara snapped her head to face her grandmother and shot her an angry glare before shouting, "You happy now?! There goes my one and only chance of becoming a waterbender!" And with that, she stormed off.

* * *

"Alright! Ready our defenses! The Fire Nation could be on our shores any moment now!" Sokka gave instructions to his 'warriors'. Then Rou began. "But I gotta-" But Sokka knew what was coming. "And NO potty breaks!" he said in a stern tone. He ran back to his tent and got ready.

He wore a warrior's uniform with face paint consisting of grey, black and white colors. Then he climbed on the walls of their tribe and kept his eyes sharp for any danger threatening his home.

* * *

Aang didn't really leave. He felt like he wanted to stay. Instead, he just rested not too far from the tribe. Appa growled, trying to say something to his master. Aang had always understood animals emotions especially Appa, and knew what his friend was trying to tell him.

"Yeah. I liked her too." Aang looked back at the tribe. Then his eyes traveled far form the tribe and rested in a black dot. He gasped as he realized it was a Fire Nation ship. Then he looked at the tribe. "The village." he mumbled under his breath.

He ordered his bison to stay, and Appa was more than happy to. Aang figured on how was he to get there fast. Then, out of the blue, an idea came and Aang started running to the place where he talked to Katara about penguins.

Meanwhile, back at the Southern Water Tribe, Sokka was still on the look out. He stole a glance behind him. Everyone looked so sad and gloomy. Even the kids seem more down than usual. Sokka felt a pang of guilt running a sword through him. Then he saw a black thing not too far from where he was. Suddenly, the ground began shaking like an earthquake. The shaking was really strong that Sokka's watchtower fell into a heap of snow. "Aw man!"

As the dot became clearer, the more terrified Sokka became. His prediction came true. A Fire Navy ship was on their way here. "Oh man." He mumbled under his breath. His heartbeat quickened, as he was scared. His whole body stiffened with terror.

The others who saw the ship gasped before running into their tents. Katara looked back, and to her horror, saw a little child on the ground. She quickly ran back and scooped the child in her arms before running back to her tent. She noticed her brother still standing at the border of their tribe.

"Sokka, get outta the way!" she screamed. But he just stood there lifting his club and took a fighting stance, ready to defend his tribe, but scared nonetheless. Which was a pretty stupid move. But then snow beneath his feet crumbled and fell backwards, dragging Sokka with it. Then, time stood still. Almost everybody got out of their tents. Everyone was waiting for something to happen, suspense cutting the air like a sword.

Everyone jumped by the sound of metal creaking. The nose of the ship, which was also a ramp, slowly descended. Sokka quickly stumbled backwards and fell on the snow, as he was a bit too close to it. Awaiting them were around 10 soldiers in Fire Nation armor, either with spears or not. All had their faces covered with a mask fitted into their helmets that looked like a skull. One, however, didn't have the skull-mask thingy and only had the helmet. They walked down the ramp in a steady pace. The one leading appeared to have a scar on his left eye. He was about 15 or 16 years old. Little did they know that he was actually royalty.

He is Prince Zuko. Son of Firelord Ozai. Or, was. He was banished by his cruel father because he spoke out during a war meeting. The only way to return home is to capture the Avatar. Only then, will his father return his honor to him.

Sokka gathered up his courage and got on his feet with his club in his hands. While yelling, he ran up the ramp towards them. But Zuko kicked his club out of his hands and kicked Sokka's jaw that sent him flying, falling head first into a heap of snow, covering his upper body with his legs flailing around. Zuko continued walking coolly like nothing ever happened.

They stopped in front of the tribe, Zuko scanned the area, looking for something. Or, someone. Katara was holding on to her grandmother while Sokka was still on the ground. The rest of the tribe were either holding on to their children or holding on to others. "Where are you hiding him?" he asked. No one said anything, for they didn't have a clue whom he was talking about. Zuko extended his arm that looked like he was aiming for Katara. But he grabbed Gran Gran instead.

"He would be about this age. Master of all four elements." Still no one replied. He pushed Gran Gran back and she stumbled before coming into Katara's arms. Zuko was losing his patience, which is no surprise, flung his arm sideways and fire came out of his fist, hoping to scare them. Most of them screamed, and brought their hands in front of their eyes, protecting them from the fire. "I know you're hiding him!"

Sokka, who snapped back to his senses, grabbed his club and ran up from behind and tried to attack him. Zuko saw this coming, and ducked. Sokka hit nothing but air as he was thrown off his feet and into the air. He fell and yelled out in frustration. Zuko punched his fist forward but Sokka dodged it. He unsheathed his boomerang and threw it towards Zuko who again dodged it. Rou had a spear in his hands and threw to Sokka. He caught with one hand and sprinted towards him. Zuko just broke the front part of the spear, which was wood and when he reached the bone, he yanked it poked Sokka's head with it multiple times. Sokka fell and Zuko broke the bone in half, throwing them aside.

Sokka rubbed his head where it was hit and looked up in fear. Zuko just looked at him pathetically when suddenly…

_BAM!_

Sokka's boomerang hit his head when it came back. Zuko's helmet twisted and he stumbled forward. But that was a big mistake. His nose was smoking and his hands were clenched so tightly that fire was burning. Sokka gulped and backed away until he joined his sister.

When things were starting to get ugly, Aang came out of nowhere riding a penguin. He sped up and knocked Zuko off his feet from behind. Zuko plummeted to the ground, landing flat on his face with his butt facing the sky, his helmet dropping neatly on it. Aang stopped his penguin and it stood up abruptly.

"Hey Katara. Hey Sokka." He greeted in his normal carefree voice.

"Hi Aang. Thanks for coming." Sokka said in a monotone. Aang gave a smile before changing to dead seroius. The firebender got up and signaled his soldiers. They all stood around Aang and took a fighting stance along with Zuko. Aang also stood up, too taking a stance with his staff pointing forward. Aang shifted before raising his staff and slamming it against the ground, sending snow straight to Zuko and his soldiers. Zuko was shocked to see this kid airbending. He was informed that the Avatar was the only airbender.

"Looking for me?" he asked, seemingly knowing what he was looking for.

"You're the airbender? You're the Avatar?" he said in a surprised tone. Aang's face looked serious and nodded before resuming his fighting stance. Katara and Sokka's eyes widen with their mouths slightly apart. Sokka, whose face paint was starting to wear off, said with disbelief. "No way!" Katara said his name as she realized the truth. Zuko and Aang rounded each other, both observing and studying one another.

"I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training, meditating. You're just a child!" Aang raised an eyebrow and straightened his back. "Well, you're just a teenager." Zuko lost it. He punched his fist forward and firebended a fireball. Aang gasped before spinning his staff to extinguish the fire. Zuko repeated this many times, Aang constantly spinning his staff to protect the tribe. But then, a fireball went pass him and nearly burnt the people. Aang saw this and knew that this was not going to stop. Zuko would keep on trying until he got what he wanted. He looked down and made a choice.

He stopped spinning and slammed his staff to the ground. "If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?" Zuko stopped, straightened his back and nodded. One soldier shoved Aang forward while another soldier took Aang's staff. Katara ran forward and shouted his name.

"No, Aang . Don't do this!" Aang looked back and said, "Don't worry, Katara. It'll be okay. Take care of Appa for me until I get back!"

"Head course for the Fire Nation! I'm going home." Zuko ordered his men as they obeyed. They walked up the ramp and slowly it rose up. Aang, whose eyes were still locked with Katara's, smiled to tell her he was going to be fine. But deep down inside, he was terrified. Aang looked down. What if he didn't come back? What if that person didn't keep his promise? He looked into Katara's eyes again.

Fear, confusion, sadness, heartbreak. Those emotions were all in her eyes as tears were sliding down her cheeks. Aang felt the misery she was experiencing, and his smile turned downwards. He took one last look at her before the ramp completely blocked his view. He looked down as he too began to tear up. The tears made their way down his face and dropped down to the cold, hard metal floor.

* * *

**Well? How was it? I wanted it to be longer, but I decided that this was long enough. This chapter's better than the previous one, though. I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible. But I'm not making any promises, ok? So, you know, review and share your thoughts, yaddah yaddah yaddah, and thanks for reading.**


End file.
